St. Charles E., Genevahave sense of déjà vuSaints rally for another 2-1 victory against Vikings

By Chris WalkerGENEVA -- Both teams must’ve felt like they’ve experienced this before.

St. Charles East defeated Geneva, 2-1, during the Augsburg-Drach Invitational on April 11.The Saints beat the Vikings by the same score on Tuesday during the inaugural Tri-Cities Challenge, which also was a fund-raiser for cancer research and awareness as well as an important Upstate Eight River match. Simply titled “Red Card Cancer,” the teams and fans combined to collect $1,634.

The Saints (17-1-0, 6-0-0) actually had to rally to achieve the victory, something they’re not accustomed to this spring. They tied the game at 1-1 with 18:49 remaining in the second half on a beautiful play by Kyla Augustine, Kaitlyn Dziubinski and Chantel Carranza.

Carranza, who is only a freshman, got things started by perfectly placing a pass to the sprinting Dziubinski, who outran all defenders. She then sent it right in front of Augustine, who buried it.“Kaitlyn made a great ball in, and we got lucky on it,” Augustine said. “Our team carries the ball so well through the middle that we get opportunities like that and put it away.”

Despite falling behind early, the Saints didn’t panic.

“I think that’s what’s nice about us,” Augustine said. “We don’t necessarily get down and don’t play like we’re down. We just keep fighting and try to the get the win.”

The Saints experienced losing for the first time on Friday, dropping a 3-1 game in overtime to Barrington. But they made sure that wouldn’t happen this time. They rebounded with a 3-0 win against Oswego and kept to their winning ways while playing on back-to-back nights.“Honestly we kept our heads focused on what we’re looking to do every game,” Augustine said. “We focus on every game, and that’s been our big team goal since the beginning of the year.“We keep our mind-set on doing work now and will get results hopefully. We don’t dwell on any bad things and don’t over exemplify the good things we’ve done. We stay humble and definitely work as a team.”Geneva (7-9-2, 2-3-2) appeared set to earn a 1-1 draw, but the Saints were awarded a penalty kick with only 6:12 remaining.Carranza, who set up the first goal, put in the PK and was named Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match.She came up especially big as the Saints were without one of their top players. Senior Darcy Cunningham was sidelined for the second straight game after getting hurt on Friday.“We connect really well, so we were missing her up top and under pressure and her finishing,” Carranza said.It was the fourth time Carranza has taken a PK this year, so she had plenty of confidence in taking it.“It’s nothing new,” she said. “I just needed to put the ball in the back of the net.”Depth on a team is huge, and the Saints proved that they could win even when they’re without Cunningham.“We’re not the only team to lose a quality player for a little while,” Saints coach Paul Jennison said. “It opens a door for someone else to come in and play well, and Hannah Kolb came in and had a fantastic game.”Cunningham is coping with an ankle injury.“It’s one of those things we’ll monitor, and when she’s fit and ready to go, she’ll be back,” Jennison said. “It’s one of those things where when the opportunities arise, the girls have to be ready to take them.”St. Charles East had some chances in the first half, but found itself deadlocked in a scoreless game once halftime arrived.“The message was clear at halftime,” Jennison said. “You think you’re in control of the game because we have a lot of balls, and they were sitting behind the ball very nicely and defending well. They gave us possession, which gave us a false sense of security. I thought in the second half we were much better in taking the game to them.”Geneva jumped ahead with a goal less than four minutes into the second half. Off of a corner kick, the Saints failed to clear the ball in the dangerous penalty area, and Mary Landry was able to secure possession and line the go-ahead shot in.After losing some momentum when the Saints tied the game, the Vikings nearly took it right back, but Landry’s shot caromed off the right post with 16:23 left. Allie Mikos collected the rebound and lined a great shot, but it landed right into the hands of keeper Alison Chesterfield.“A little back luck with the post and that PK call, but the scoreboard doesn’t always reflect how the game went,” Geneva coach Megan Owens said. “St. Charles East is having a phenomenal season. The fact is, we hung with them and had the lead. It was very physical, and I felt we battled really well. Up until the final minute it could’ve gone either way.”Still, there has to be a stinging feeling for giving up a second-half lead and then losing on a PK.“It’s unfortunate to lose on a PK with (six) minutes left. I don’t think there can be a more disappointing way to lose in their minds,” Owens said. “But for me as a coach, I’m happy with our effort. We showed up to play and hung in there for 80 minutes against one of the top teams in the state, and we’re building toward postseason. If we can hang with them, we can hang with anybody.”The Saints created more chances in the second half than they did in the first half, and had numerous corner kicks and set pieces. But the Vikings came up big defensively on many occasions.“All across the board we battled, so I’m very proud with how my team played,” Owens said. “I couldn’t have asked for more effort or a harder work ethic. They left it all on the field and played with a lot of heart, but unfortunately a PK decided the game.”